I wasn't really bothered by Cartoon Network fielding a bunch of kid-centric live action shows until I realized that lineup was supplanting the Friday night action shows that had become appointment television for me and Clark. They seemed to have timed it so that they're holding any new episodes of Batman: Brave and the Bold, Secret Saturdays, and Ben 10 for some future scheduling event... because at the moment, Clark's favorites seem to run only on Saturday mornings. Which is a nice throwback, I suppose, but in 2009 we're way beyond original cartoons being quarantined to the Saturday AM ghetto.
CN is getting demolished by the fan communities over the live action stuff, which gets more awkwardly hilarious by the day. Sure, the animation fansites are going ballistic about it, but even the network's official postings to YouTube are being fully lit up with angry comments. Apparently Cartoon Network had some classless music video posted with some douche singing about how Cartoon Network wasn't just for cartoons, and it was so thoroughly trashed in comments that they pulled it.
I found some ten year old promos on YouTube (not uploaded via official sources, naturally), and they reminded me just how much Cartoon Network has changed.
They used to do stuff like that all the time. Hundreds of spots leveraged old and new cartoons in silly and clever ways. Now, I'll be the first to argue that Cartoon Network should stay relevant to modern kids and not just run and re-run old Looney Tunes until doomsday... but even ten years ago they still knew how to combine both old and new with excellent results. Back then, new characters like the Powerpuff Girls and Cow & Chicken were thrown right alongside Fred Flintstone and Morocco Mole.
Even shows that fizzled on impact, like Sheep in the Big City, were pushed front and center in fancy "part of the family" promos.
This one is gorgeous. "My Best Friend Plank," from 2004 or so. And I never even cared for Ed, Edd & Eddy. What happened to the creative teams that had the time and skill for stuff like this? Some of the recent Chowder spots echoed this old vibe.
Here's one that the web is having a good ol' time resurrecting... a mid-to-late 90s promo where they pointed out how they don't run Jim Carrey movies.
These days, they do run Jim Carrey movies. And even sequels to Jim Carrey movies that do not feature Jim Carrey.
I guess these old spots reminded me how Cartoon Network used to voraciously identify itself. How their spots used to be technically amazing and inventive. How they used to be funny! I understand that the current fads in kids' TV are animated action shows and live action tween shows... but I do miss the mix of comedy and action CN used to enjoy.
And I don't think the new live direction would be half as annoying if the executives weren't trying to make a point out of obliterating animation entirely (with that tacky music video and the sudden upheaval of new animated product), all in the name of chasing Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Not that there's anything wrong with those two channels; just that, you know, we already have them. Cartoon Network used to be different, and their promos used to protect and emphasize that.
And poor Boomerang! I don't think they've done a new Boomerang promo for five years. It's still the same old Boomeraction intro, Boomeroyalty spot, and old H-B toy bumps. If Boomerang received half the attention that glory days CN received - and if Boomerang was more widely found on cable services - perhaps animation fans wouldn't be as miffed.
I remember these, too. They were a big part of the reason to watch Cartoon Network, for a while.
It was something interesting and these promos made it feel special.
Creative departments like this are dead or dying. At least in TV.
Shame, huh?